I Want a New Drug

"I Want a New Drug"
Single by Huey Lewis and the News
from the album Sports
B-side "Finally Found a Home"
Released January 3, 1984
Format 7", 12"
Length 4:46 (album version)
3:29 (single edit)
5:32 (12" dance mix)
Label Chrysalis
Writer(s) Chris Hayes
Huey Lewis
Producer(s) Huey Lewis and the News
Certification Gold (RIAA)[1]
Huey Lewis and the News singles chronology
"Heart and Soul"
(1983)		 "I Want a New Drug"
(1984)		 "The Heart of Rock & Roll"
(1984)

"I Want a New Drug" is a song by American rock band Huey Lewis and the News from their third album Sports. It was released as the second single from the album, following the top-ten hit "Heart and Soul" in January 1984. The single reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Dance Club Play chart.

History

According to Lewis, he wrote the song in only a few minutes. "I was on the way to my attorney's house and I thought of it in the car. I pulled up and walked in. I said, 'Bob, give me a piece of paper, I've got to write this down'."[2]

The video echoes the song's origin, with Lewis waking up late, remembering he has a concert that night, and races across San Francisco using his yellow convertible, a public ferry, and a chartered helicopter to get to the concert on time, sighting a girl twice on his way, and finding her in the front row at the concert (the same girl is featured in the video for "Heart and Soul"). The video features Lewis' most famous outfit, a red sport jacket and pants with a plain black T-shirt and matching sunglasses (the man who takes the jacket and shades off Lewis before he goes on stage is the band's manager, Bob Brown).

Lawsuit

When the theme song of the 1984 film Ghostbusters was released, Huey Lewis sued Ray Parker Jr. for copyright infringement, claiming that Parker had stolen the melody from "I Want a New Drug". Lewis had been approached to compose the main theme song for the film, but had to decline because of his work on the soundtrack for Back to the Future. The two parties settled out of court. Details of the settlement (specifically, that Columbia Pictures paid Lewis a settlement) were confidential until 2001, when Lewis commented on the payment in an episode of VH1's Behind the Music. Parker subsequently sued Lewis for breaching confidentiality.[3]

Cover versions

The song has been covered by:

The song was parodied by "Weird Al" Yankovic as "I Want a New Duck" on his 1985 album, Dare to Be Stupid.

The song was covered and retitled "I Need a New Drug" by Central Services on their 2005 EP Forever Frozen in Television Time. The production duo consists of independent hip hop artists EL-P and Camu Tao.

It was made available to download on February 28, 2012 for play in Rock Band 3 Basic, and PRO mode which utilizes real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards in addition to vocals.

Track listing

7" Chrysalis / CHS 2776 United Kingdom
  1. "I Want a New Drug" – 3:29 unlabelled 7" mix
  2. "Finally Found a Home" – 3:48
12" Chrysalis / CHS 12 2776 United Kingdom
  1. "I Want a New Drug (Called Love)" (12" mix) – 5:32
  2. "I Want a New Drug (Called Love)" (7" mix) – 3:29
  3. "Heart and Soul" – 3:55
  4. "(Tattoo) Giving It All Up for Love" (Phil Lynott) – 3:11
12" Chrysalis / CS 42779 Canada
  1. "I Want a New Drug" (dance mix) – 5:32
  2. "I Want a New Drug" (instrumental) – 4:30
7" Chrysalis / CHS 42766 Canada
  1. "I Want a New Drug" - 3:29
  2. "Finally Found a Home" - 3:42
12" Chrysalis / 601 194 Germany
  1. "I Want a New Drug" (extended version) – 5:32
  2. "Heart and Soul" (special remix) – 6:42
  3. "Tell Me a Little Lie" – 4:08
12" Chrysalis / 601 343 Germany
  1. "I Want a New Drug (Called Love)" (maxi mix) – 5:32
  2. "I Want a New Drug (Called Love)" (simple mix) – 3:29
  3. "(Tattoo) Giving It All Up for Love" – 3:11
  4. "Honky Tonk Blues" (Hank Williams) – 3:16

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 27
Canada (CHUM)[5] 8
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[6] 6
Germany (Official German Charts)[7] 27
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[8] 10
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 6
US Dance/Disco Top 80 (Billboard)[9] 1
US Top Tracks (Billboard)[9] 7
US Cash Box[10] 5

Year-end charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 51
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 55
US Dance/Disco Top 80 (Billboard)[13] 32
US Cash Box[14] 41

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[15] Gold 50,000^
United States (RIAA)[16] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database, RIAA.com. Retrieved 2009-06-23.
  2. ↑ Greene, Andy (May 17, 2013). "Huey Lewis on 30 Years of 'Sports': 'Our 15 Minutes Were a Real 15 Minutes'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  3. ↑ Vanhorn, Teri (March 23, 2001). "Ray Parker Jr. Suing Huey Lewis Over ‘Ghostbusters’ Comment". MTV.
  4. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 91. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1418 – Saturday, March 10, 1984 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 November 2006). CHUM. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 40, No. 3, Mar 24, 1984". RPM. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Huey Lewis and the News – I Want a New Drug". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Huey Lewis and the News – I Want a New Drug". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 "Huey Lewis – Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  10. ↑ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending MARCH 31, 1984". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Top 100 Singles of 1984". RPM. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 96 (51): 5. December 22, 1984. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Top Dance Singles/Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 96 (51): 13. December 22, 1984. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  14. ↑ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1984". Cash Box magazine. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Huey Lewis & the News – I Want a New Drug". Music Canada. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
  16. ↑ "American single certifications – Huey Lewis & the News – I Want a New Drug". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved April 21, 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
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